The Bombardier CRJ200, carrying 15 passengers and five crew members, was flying between the northern city of Kokshetau and Almaty in the central Asian country, RIA Novosti reported.

"The plane, which was not allowed to land because of fog, began to turn, but got lost in poor visibility and crashed seven kilometers [about four miles] from the airport," the Almaty emergency department said.

The aircraft broke in two and caught fire, Gazeta.kz reported.

Airline officials said the official cause of the crash would be confirmed once the plane's black flight data is recovered.

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